(Story courtesy Edgefield County School District)
DES MOINES, IOWA – Following four rounds of intense courtroom competition, the South Carolina High School Mock Trial (HSMT) state champions from Strom Thurmond High School (STHS) landed among the top 15 teams at the High School Mock Trial (HSMT) National Championships held in Iowa’s state capital (May 7-9) and presented by the Iowa State Bar Association.
The Rebels, who finished 14th overall, also placed not one, but two individuals among the nation’s Top 10 attorneys and Top 10 witnesses when senior Raina Barrs and junior Toney Robinson were recognized for their stellar individual performances during the event’s awards gala held Saturday evening, May 9, 2026.
Team members Evan Williams (Star Attorney) and Olivia O’Gorman (Star Witness) were recognized by their opponents following the morning round on May 9, with Raina Barrs (Star Attorney) and Toney Robinson (Star Witness) earning those honors for the afternoon round. Each round features both the plaintiff and defense halves of the team.
On Friday May 8, Evan Williams (Star Attorney) and Lilly Smith (Star Witness) were recognized following the morning round, with Raina Barrs (Star Attorney) and Julianne Harper (Star Witness) earning those honors for the afternoon round.
Team members in Iowa for the National Finals include Raina Barrs, Rebecca Carpenter, Dennis Fraser, Joseph Greene, Julianne Harper, Carter Massey, Olivia O’Gorman, Toney Robinson, Lilly Smith, Olivia Stevens and Evan Williams. Team coaches include Lead Teacher Coach Tommy Behr and Attorney Coach Blair Massey.
“It’s really become a family, and they’ve achieved so much over the past few years,” said Massey. “They work so hard, they compete well, and the civility they demonstrate with their many competitors who are
equally as talented, is really a reflection of their family, community, and school. They really make South Carolina proud.”
“What a privilege,” said Behr. “Winning three state titles (consecutively) is something new, but it’s something that’s been 40 years in the making. There is a strong tradition of wonderful people volunteering and phenomenal coaches who have come before and who continue with Mrs. Massey. It’s not just the high school, it’s also the middle schools and the students and parents we get from there, and the commitment of the community.”
The HSMT program is a hands-on exercise in learning about due process. It is most often conducted as an extracurricular school activity. According to the S.C. Bar Association, which sponsors the state competition each year, the goal of Mock Trial is to educate students about the basis of our American judicial system and the mechanics of litigation. Through participation in the Mock Trial program, students increase basic skills such as listening, speaking, writing, reading, critical thinking and problem analysis.
The Rebels have won South Carolina Mock Trial championships in 2026, 2025, 2024, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2012, 1987, 1985 and 1984. Strom Thurmond High School was also the South Carolina state runner-up in 2014 and 2011.
The team’s members and its coaches remain extremely grateful to the Edgefield County School District, Edgefield County Board of Education Trustees, members of the South Carolina Bar Association, Strom Thurmond High School and their families for their tremendous support.
The 2027 HSMT National Championships are scheduled to be held in St. Louis, Missouri. And while many new challenges and competitions remain ahead of them, the Rebels say they will be working just as hard to be there next year at the “Gateway to the West” representing the Palmetto State on the national stage once again.
“I’m ready for that,” said Massey of next season’s goal. “(STHS team member Dennis Fraser) asked if I’d ever been to St. Louis, and I told him I had. He said, ‘I haven’t, but I would like to go’ and I said, let’s make that happen.”
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